As the Cowboys get ready to face their Week 9 opponent, Atlanta, they should take a moment to appreciate the steps the Falcons have taken to get to the situation they are currently in.

The Falcons, 5-3, are in first place in the NFC South this season. After a 7-10 campaign in 2023 where they finished third and clearly missed the playoffs, it represents a marked improvement for the franchise.

The Cowboys are on the opposite trajectory. After finishing 12-5, winning the NFC East and gaining the second seed in the NFC, Dallas has crashed back to earth in 2024. The once-dominant franchise is now struggling in all phases of the game, they stand at 3-5 and are already statistical longshots for the postseason.

If things progress as they seem to be moving, the Cowboys may be in line for a rebuild in 2025. A top 10 draft pick, salary cap space and openings across the coaching staff offer a prime opportunity for rebuild. While some may want to focus on a quick reload and commitment for the here and now, others may opt for a more thorough approach, focusing more on the long-term than an immediate bounce back in 2025.

If anyone asks the Falcons for advice they might say, “why not both?”

Atlanta attacked the offseason with both the present and the future in mind. In one of the most head scratching moves of the offseason the Falcons signed free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract and then six weeks later drafted quarterback Michael Penix with their first-round pick.

Using the bulk of their free agent money and their most valuable draft pick on the same position highlighted their commitment to two seemingly contrary goals. The redundancy of the QB position is unlike any other on the football field. It’s impossible for both Cousins and Penix to succeed side by side, making it one act of playing for the present and a completely separate act of preparing for the future.

It was criticized heavily at the time but almost midway into the 2024 season it doesn’t look quite so crazy.

For the sake of clarity this is not implying the Cowboys need to draft a QB next April. Dak Prescott may be uncharacteristically struggling but he’s still more than capable of leading an elite offense for years to come. This is simply to point out the idea of a “soft” rebuild isn’t crazy. The Cowboys can add veteran players who can help win now but might not help much in the future, and at the same time invest in young players who help more in the future, even if they don’t help much now.

A perfect example of the Cowboys doing this is Dallas signing Eric Kendricks and drafting Tyler Guyton. Both players might be on the field right now but only one is really helping Dallas win right now. With all due respect to Guyton, he’s a project player who’s a bit more liability than asset this season. The Cowboys are enduring growing pains now for the hope he’ll pay off in the future. Kendricks, on the other hand, is a help-now guy who, at 32, doesn’t project to be a contributor in the future.

No one knows how it will all play out for the Falcons over the next 4-5 years, but they are an early case study in having their cake and eating it too. It’s something Jerry Jones and the Cowboys might be interested in this upcoming offseason.

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